Drying and cremating apparatus for refuse matter.



No. 783,475. PATENTED FEB.-28, 1905 F. P. SMITH.

DRYING AND OREMATING APPARATUS FOR REFUSE MATTER;

APPLIOATION FILED APR. 2. 190a.

.71; 15 FIG2.

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UNITED STATES Patented February 28, 1905,

PATENT OEEicE,

FRED P. SMITH, OF NEW YORK, N. Y., ASSIGNOR TO THE MUNICIPAL ENGINEERING COMPANY, OF NEW YORK, N. Y., A CORPORATION OF DELAWARE.

DRYING AND CREMATING APPARATUS FOR REFUSE MATTER.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 783,47 5, dated February 28, 1905. Application filed April ,2, 1903. Serial No. 150,685.

To all whom it may concern.-

Be it known that I, FRED P. SMITH, a citizen of the United States, and a resident of the city, county, and State of New York, have invented a new and useful Improvement in Drying and Cremating Apparatus for Refuse Matter, of which the following is a full description.

One object of my invention is to construct a crematory or furnace which maybe used with an up or down draft, in which may be introduced a hollow grate-bar arranged to allow the passage of cool air from without, thereby keeping the bar cool, and to utilize the warmed air passing through the bar to supply oxygen for combustion by directing this air into the combustion-chamber, and this is accomplished by constructing the device with the bars free to be rotated to discharge the ashes andcinders without affecting the tubes or flues which give direction to the warm air passing through the bars.'

Another object is to provide the device with a heating-floor, beneath which the warm air discharged from the hollow bars may be directed to heat the floor and dry the refuse matter supported thereon and whereon this refuse matter when suificiently dry may be raked or pushed forward to the grate, and thus furnish its own fuel, while the damper leading to the chimney is so arranged that the furnace may be operated with an up or down d raft, as required, and when used with a downdraft to furnish additional heat to the heating-floor, the whole being accomplished without scorching the material and producing bad odors.

The accompanying drawings illustrate the invention, of which- Figure 1 is a longitudinal sectional view of the apparatus. Fig. 2 is a horizontal section taken on line a m of Fig. 1. Fig. 3 is an upright section of the device on line 3 3 Fig. 1, partly broken away to show a drainpipe with its outlet located over the evapo- The crematory is built with the usual walls 1 1, of brick or other suitable material, and

jacent neighbor.

within it is placed a grate composed of hollow bars 2, whose rear ends are located below a heating-floor 3, constructed of material suitable for the purpose. From the rear end of this floor extend one or more tubes or flues 4, directed upwardly and into the combustion-chamber 5, so that the cool air from without, passing through the hollow bars and heated thereby, continues its passage beneath the floor, imparting heat thereto, and up through the fluesi into the combustion-cham- 'ber 5 to supply this chamber with warm air for combustion.

The hollow heating-floor and the flues leading therefrom into the combustion-chamber are stationary, while the grate-bars are arranged to be turned or rotated without disturbing'the course of the air directed beneath the floor into the combustion-chamber, as would occur in case the grate-bar itself were bent to direct the air into the chamber. The front ends of the bars project'beyond the front wall'of the furnace, and upon these projecting ends of the bars are placed pinions 6, the teeth ofwhich mesh with each other. A crank-lever 7 on the end of one of the bars serves the purpose of rotating it when desired to relieve the grate of the cinders, clinkers, and ashes and drop them into the ash-pit below. The pinions'6 may be arranged to intermesh all along; but I prefer to arrange themto intermesh two by two, so that the rotation of one bar will rotate its ad- Along the length of the bar are placed the flanges 8. By preference I havemade these flanges triangular in form, so that when in usual position one of the faces of the triangle is at the top, and together they form almost an even flat'surface for the support of the fuel, but when partially rotated leave a wide space between the bars and allow the passage of cinders and ashes between them into the ash-pit. I A wall 9, located between the chimney and the furnace, supports the rear end of the heating-floor. Through this wall above the floor is an opening 10, provided with a damper 11, provided with the usual devices for opening and closing the same.

12 is a chimney, to which the draft may be a downdraft occurs, which passes between hollow bars and through the smoke-conduit 13 into the chimney and in its passage imparts additional heat for drying and evaporating the material on the floor. The dump-openings 14 are located conveniently to allow the material to be dropped upon the heating-floor, and the side doors 15 enable an attendant to manipulate the material on the floor or move it forward to the grate, as occasion requires. When the material upon the floor is damp and requires drying before consuming, a light lire is usually ignited on the grate and either the downdraft or updraft may be used until dry enough to be consumed. It is then pushed forward to the grate, and thus furnishes its own fuel for drying or consumption. As it is advanced from the rear its place is supplied with new material, which goes through the same process. The furnace is thus drying and burning its own material, preparing it to serve as fuel, and utilizing it for its own consumption.

The device is supplied with the usual fur nace-door 16 and ash-pit door 17.

Beneath the heating-floor is located an evaporating pan 18. The heated air passing through the bars takes its course to the combustion-chamber between the floor and the evaporating-pan.

In order to prevent the material from being dumped upon the floor while very wet, I make use of the following devices for draining: Viewing Fig. 3, I have shown a box 19 to receive the wet material located outside of the furnace. From this box proceeds a drainpipe 20, whose outlet enters between the floor and the pan. Through this pipe the water flows into the pan, and when the material is thus drained it is dumped upon the floor and manipulated as above described. The heated air from the bars passing over the water in the pan and the products of combustion passing under the pan evaporates the water therein, the vapors and odors being carried into the combustion chamber and consumed in passing through the grate. The pan protects the floor from too much heat and prevents the scorching of the material thereon and consequent bad odors arising from scorched matter.

Thus is described a furnace in which an up or down draft may be used, having a grate of hollow bars, which may be rotated without disturbing the direction of the heated air passing through them, which is caused to pass be neath a heating-floor and over an evaporatingpan, thereby drying the material on the floor, preparing it for use as fuel for its own consumption, evaporating the drainage water in the pan, and carrying olf its odors and vapors through the combustion-ehamber and thence through the fire-grate.

\Vhat I claim, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is"

1. In a drying and cremating device a grate composed of a series of hollow bars and means for rotating the bars, in combination with a heating-floor adapted to support the refuse matter to be dried and consumed and located in position to be heated by the air passing through the bars in its passage to the combustion-chamber. r

2. In a drying and cremating device, a grate composed of a series of hollow bars and means for rotating the bars, in combination with a heating-floor adapted to support the refuse matter to be dried and burned and arranged in line with said bars, to receive the heated air passing through the bars to the combustion-chamber and a flue or flues at the end of the heating-'l'loor, having an outlet into the combustion-chamber to direct theheated air passing through the bars and beneath the heating-floor, to support and maintain combustion in the chamber.

3. Ina drying and cremating device, a grate composed of a series of hollow bars, in combination with a hollow heating-floor located in position to receive the heated air passing through the bars upon its lower surface, a flue or flues located below the inner end of the FRED P. SMITH.

Witnesses:

M. TURNER, JOHN H. DUVALL.

ICC 

